Kirk Franklin on tour, playing Brooklyn this week (watch a video from DC)
It was 1997 when Franklin’s “Stomp (Remix)” exploded with a thundering funkadelic sample and a verse from Salt of famed hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa, and it still propels people from their seats 19 years later. Although it was the penultimate song in Franklin’s set, it’s the tune that determined the show’s tone, just as it also determined the trajectory of his career. He has spent two decades spurning the rules of a genre that historically fashioned itself around a conservative religious aesthetic, effectively bridging the gap between gospel music and youth culture.
Never one to mince words, Franklin poked fun at his status as gospel’s black sheep throughout the show and faced his latest controversy head-on. He altered the lyrics of the rallying “Give Me” to include the line “If we humble ourselves, anyone can be saved, even Kanye,” referring to his recent collaboration with the often-criticized Kanye West and subsequent defense of the rapper. On Instagram, a portion of the caption on a photo of the two read, “To a lot of my Christian family, I’m sorry he’s not good enough, Christian enough, or running at your pace.” [Washington Post]
Gospel musician Kirk Franklin, whose profile in the modern pop realm increased after he collaborated with Kanye West on The Life of Pablo and SNL, is on tour now. The above quote is a review of his DC show at Warner Theatre on Saturday (3/19), where he also proved his hipness by hitting the milly rock.
The tour hits Brooklyn on Tuesday (3/22) at Kings Theatre. Tickets for that show are still available.
All dates are listed, with a video from his recent DC show, below…
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Kirk Franklin — 2016 Tour Dates
March 22nd Brooklyn, NY Kings Theatre
March 23rd Philadelphia, PA Tower Theatre
March 24th Cleveland, OH The Masonic Temple
March 25th Detroit, MI Fox Theatre
March 26th Pittsburgh, PA Heinz Hall
March 29th Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
March 31st Louisville, KY Palace Theatre
April 1st Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre
April 2nd Minneapolis, MN State Theatre
April 3rd Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre
April 5th St. Louis, MO Peabody Opera House
April 8th Oklahoma City, OK The Criterion
April 9th San Antonio, TX The Aztec Theater
April 10th Dallas, TX Majestic Theatre
April 11th Houston, TX Revention Music Center
April 14th Phoenix, AZ Comerica Theatre
April 15th Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
April 16th Oakland, CA Paramount Theatre
